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Consumer fraud is soaring. Reported losses to elder fraud totaled $3.4 billion in 2023, an increase of more than 14 percent from a year earlier, according to the latest data from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). Reports involving older people increased by 14 percent from a year earlier. These crimes are underreported, so actual losses are much higher.
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Though education empowers older Americans to protect themselves, more is needed to eliminate this large-scale problem. That’s why AARP advocates for laws and regulations at the state and federal levels to protect adults 50 and older. AARP has supported bipartisan legislation to strengthen consumer protections against scams, including bills that combat caller ID spoofing and illegal robocalls.
- AARP endorsed the Veterans Protection From Fraud Act by Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.). This legislation would enhance the criminal penalties for committing email or telemarketing fraud against veterans.
- AARP endorsed the bipartisan Senior Security Act of 2023. The legislation by Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) would help combat financial exploitation by creating an interdivisional task force at the Securities and Exchange Commission to examine and identify challenges that older people face while investing. The bill would require the Government Accountability Office to study and report on the economic costs of the financial abuse of older Americans.
- On May 10, 2023, AARP sent a letter to Reps. Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.) and Maria Salazar (R-Fla.) endorsing the Reporting Instances of Non-authorized Grift (RING) Act of 2023. The bill would amend the Truth in Lending Act to require that certain creditors establish a toll-free phone number dedicated solely to assisting consumers 50 and older in resolving billing errors and mitigating fraudulent activity.
- On March 7, AARP sent letters to lawmakers to endorse the Casualty Loss Deduction Restoration Act. This bipartisan, bicameral legislation would reinstate the casualty loss deduction, allowing taxpayers to deduct losses that were the result of unexpected disasters and theft, including fraud. It would reinstate this deduction retroactively, with a cap of $50,000 for retroactive claims. This would provide victims of fraud with some relief from their losses, even if they were unable to recover the funds stolen from them. AARP has long worked to educate consumers, support victims and improve fraud detection and prevention at financial institutions.
AARP has succeeded in winning approval for stricter consumer protections at the state level.
Multiple states: Protecting against real estate scams
Thirty states enacted legislation against the predatory practice of unscrupulous real estate brokers who misled homeowners into signing decades-long agreements that gave the brokers the exclusive right to sell the homes. The bills enacted in these states are based on a model bill designed by AARP and other national stakeholders. It prohibits service agreements of more than one year, makes the agreements nonrecordable in the deed or property record, and blocks liens or encumbrances associated with the land. It also prohibits locking homeowners into exclusive long-term real estate listing agreements and imposes penalties on brokers who do so. Samar Jha, governmental affairs director for AARP, worked on developing the model bill and assisted the state offices in advocating to pass the legislation. (Learn more on this episode of AARP’s The Perfect Scam podcast.)
Maryland: Gift card payment scams
Gov. Wes Moore signed into law legislation requiring businesses that sell gift cards to post a notice alerting customers about payment scams and to train their staff to identify and respond to gift card fraud. The bill bolsters efforts to curtail gift card scams and reduce this source of criminal money transfer by educating consumers, helping them to identify warning signs and encouraging reporting when residents are targeted by scammers.
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